


From Barnes to Bucky

by Distantyelling



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gunshot Wounds, Near Death Experiences, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 03:34:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20057347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Distantyelling/pseuds/Distantyelling
Summary: “ Shit, you are cold.”, Bucky’s hand was freezing. Sam wasn’t even wearing a jacket to offer. Bucky struggled to open his eyes and looked at him.“ They don’t call me Winter soldier for nothin’.”, Bucky shivered and Sam was now panicking even more.“ I see your humour is improving.”, Sam tried to engage him in a conversation, solely to keep him awake, but Bucky was too far gone. He was groaning in pain, his head on Sam’s good shoulder. Sam knows that he was accustomed to pain when he was under hydra’s control, so it must be a lot to break his threshold. The groans intensified and so did Sam’s heartbeat.( How Sam Wilson finally tells Bucky that he is his friend.)





	From Barnes to Bucky

**Author's Note:**

> HI !!!! I am back. I know I have to update other fics, but meanwhile enjoy this little story about my two favs.

Sam dragged himself into what looked like an abandoned cottage in the middle of the forest, standing eerily silent. It would’ve been a lot easier, if he wasn’t half carrying the extra weight of Winter soldier, hanging on Sam’s shoulder by his metal hand, while gripping his stomach with the other. Sam kept struggling, ignoring the red blood escaping between Bucky’s flesh fingers and staining the pale skin of his hand readily. Sam didn’t get off easy either. His shoulder, currently being pressed by the weight of strong Wakandan built metal hand, has a bullet lodged in. It barely missed the collar bone, because Bucky already pushed him down the building, away from the heavy fire that started suddenly.

It was a trap.

Hill sent them to retrieve confidential information from a Hydra compound. The info they had reflected that it’s an ‘_in and out’_ operation, with very few low level guards and a commander. In reality, the scene was quite different.

They lost the five men they had. Sam and Bucky almost succeeded to copy the hard drive but then more cavalry came in. Sam got distracted while detaching the hard drive. Next thing he knew was Bucky pushing him out of the glass window. He barely caught his balance, but one of the wings was shot with something much more powerful than a bullet. He started falling, the parachute making him land but his shoulder was shot. He got rid of the parachute and looked up. There was no sign of Barnes. He tried to catch his breath, thinking of something that will help get Barnes out.

The top floor of the building exploded. Sam kept staring at the flaming building, horror struck with his eyes widened. Until, he saw a man jumping from the first floor and landing terribly on the ground in the front of him. He ran to him and helped him up, quickly fleeing the scene.

Now, they are stuck in this unknown cottage with no backup. He helped Bucky sit on the floor as the place was devoid of any furniture, only some old cardboard boxes lying around in pile of dust. Bucky shifted himself and supported his back on the wall. His breathing was labored.

“ Comms ?”, he asked in a raspy voice, eyes closed and head tilted on the wall.

“ Dead.”, Sam said while removing his earpiece. He informed Hill about the situation when he was in the building. But without their precise location, it would take hours. And looking at how Bucky is bleeding rapidly, Sam knows they don’t have that luxury.

“ Here, let me see.”, Sam sat down in front of him and tried to assess the damage, but Bucky stopped him.

“ I am fine. You should get out of here. What if they send more men?”, Bucky tried to open his eyes and focus it on him. Sam knows what he is doing. Bucky is a soldier first. He works strategically. Right now, he is trying to send Sam to safety, ignoring his own wounds already.

“ No.”, that was all Sam said, while resuming to undo Bucky’s combat jacket to see the wound.

“ But Sam...”, Bucky said.

“ Shut up Barnes.”, Sam said again, voice barely above a whisper, while he looked at the two gaping gunshot wound, bleeding furiously. Sam cursed under his breath. The bullets were lodged deep in his stomach. Any juvenile attempt by Sam to remove it, will endanger Bucky’s life even more. So Sam wrapped Bucky’s jacket tightly around his wound and tied it to stop the bleeding. He placed Bucky’s metal hand on the wound to apply pressure. Even if Bucky has the serum in his system, this was bad.

“ You know that jacket cost a fortune.”, Bucky gave him a weak smile.

“ I will get you a new one, if we get out of this shit alive.”, Sam avoided to look into his eyes. He stood up and took out his gun. He started scanning the windows one by one to see if they had company. When he was sure that there is no one around, he stood guard at the door, trying to listen for a helicopter or maybe an ambulance. He would take anything right now to get Barnes out of here.

* * *

After two hours, Sam’s shoulder was burning like lava. He was still sitting near the door, feeling drowsy due of his own blood loss. Bucky was also at the same spot, eyes closed. Sam kept sneaking glances, checking if he was breathing. After few minutes, Bucky let out a small whimper and Sam was by his side in a second.

“ Barnes, you okay?”, Sam felt incredibly stupid after asking that question. When Bucky didn’t answer, he tapped on his flesh hand, only to remove it harshly.

“ Shit, you are cold.”, Bucky’s hand was freezing. Sam wasn’t even wearing a jacket to offer. Bucky struggled to open his eyes and looked at him.

“ They don’t call me Winter soldier for nothin’.”, Bucky shivered and Sam was now panicking even more. This is not a good sign. Seeing no other way, Sam pulled Bucky closer and held him tight, careful of his wound, but enough to keep him warm. Not that Sam was in a very good condition himself. The pain was unbearable. He can only imagine the agony Barnes must be in. He could hear his harsh breathing, how he is trying to keep himself awake.

“ I see your humour is improving.”, Sam tried to engage him in a conversation, solely to keep him awake, but Bucky was too far gone. He was groaning in pain, his head on Sam’s good shoulder. Sam knows that he was accustomed to pain when he was under hydra’s control, so it must be a lot to break his threshold. The groans intensified and so did Sam’s heartbeat.

Suddenly, Bucky removed himself from Sam’s grip and vomited at his side, barely missing his own body. Sam held him by his shoulders, knowing that he doesn’t have much strength to be still on his own.

“ Shit, sorry.”, Bucky mumbled. Sam shifted them both away from the mess with some careful manoeuvring. After breathing deeply through his nose few times, Bucky was back in Sam’s arms.

“ Barnes, you’re an idiot.”, Sam muttered angrily, which slightly surprised Bucky. He knows that he doesn’t have a big significance in Sam’s life. They are barely friends. But for Bucky, he is the only friend now. Sure he loves Shuri like a little sister after his time in Wakanda, but he is not in Wakanda anymore. And the one friend he had, left him here alone and went back to the past.

_Sam may have many people in his life, but Bucky only has him._

“ Nice words to say to a dying man.”, Bucky tried to smirk, even though he doesn’t have strength anymore.

“ Exactly, you are a dying man right now because you are an idiot. You pushed me out of the window and instead of jumping out with me, you walked straight into flying bullets. And now you are here, bleeding all over the pants I wore only twice before.”, Sam spat out the words.

“ We had to complete the mission.”, Bucky groaned again, breathing heavily.

“ _We_...we had to. _We_ were in this together. But instead, you pushed me away and took the bullet that was meant for me.”, Sam’s voice softened. Bucky was surprised yet again.

“ You saved my life Barnes.”, Sam said. Bucky’s lips twitched in a smile.

“ The world needs Captain America.”, he managed to say weakly. His eyes drooping, while he held on to Sam’s hand for support.

Steve left them. The reality crashed hard when Sam put his Captain America uniform for the first time. Bucky smiled at him and wolf whistled. But Sam knew how hurt he was. Sure they were happy for him. Steve deserved happiness, it was long overdue. But he left them with a gaping hole in their hearts.

_And it will remain forever._

* * *

Sam woke up with a gasp. He didn’t even remember when he fell asleep due to exhaustion. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it was dark outside. He quickly craned his neck to check on Bucky, who was now lying in his lap. The action caused him a great deal of pain. He put his fingers on Bucky’s neck and checked his pulse. It was slow but still there. Bucky’s eyes were closed, which means he doesn't have much time left. If S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t find them fast, they are both going to die.

“ Ba...nghh Barnes.”, Sam scrunched his eyes in pain, while he tapped on Bucky’s cheek. Bucky stirred a little but didn’t open his eyes. Sam took a deep breath and composed himself, even though his mind was racing through too many painful scenarios.

The one where Barnes dies.

He shook his head, as if freeing himself of those thoughts and tried to wake him up again. Bucky woke up but his eyes were staring blankly. Sam sighed in relief to see Bucky back to consciousness.

“ Barnes ?”, Sam got worried when Bucky kept looking at the dirty ceiling, without any reaction.

“ Steve?”, Bucky whispered. Sam held his hand tightly, not sure if to bring Barnes back from his delirious state or to ground himself in the reality.

“ Barnes, c’mon man.”, Sam shifted his upper body in his arms, trying to wake him up properly.

“ Don’t go. Please. Steve please.”, Bucky’s eyes were closed again as he mumbled incoherently.

“ Stay.”, Bucky whispered in the end.

A tear slipped from Sam’s left eye while he cradled Bucky’s almost lifeless body in his arms. First Steve, and now he is going to lose Bucky too. He never told him, never admitted how much he cared for him too. Not because he was Steve’s friend, not because he was a liability, but due to the fact that he was still same old Bucky Barnes, whose stories he read in the museum as a kid. How honest he was, how he was still trying to make amends for the mistakes that he wasn’t consciously responsible for. How broken he was at Tony’s funeral, at the fact that he couldn’t apologise to him. How he smiled at him to take the shield from Steve, how he stood by his side, even when Steve left them.

_For Sam, he isn’t Barnes anymore. He is Bucky._

“ C’mon Bucky, snap out of it.”, Sam held back his pathetic sobs, while Bucky mumbled unintelligibly.

* * *

Sam didn’t know how long he sat like this. Bucky’s heartbeat was now almost nonexistent. Sam’s shoulder was numb. His one hand was on Bucky’s hair, the other hand on his wound, still trying to apply pressure. He stared at the front wall, as if it’s him, who is on verge to death. He never had a near death experience before, but maybe this is what it feels like.

He heard engine sounds coming from afar. At this point, he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming. The sound intensified and he slowly came back to reality. He carefully placed Bucky’s head on the ground and took the support of the wall to stand up, his gun still in his hand just in case. He opened the door to see three S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopters, flying high between the trees. It was dark now, but Sam could recognise those things anywhere. He couldn’t believe they finally found them. He tried to signal them but when they couldn’t hear him, he fired two shots from his gun in the air. One of the pilots spotted him. Sam didn’t wait, he ran back in a hurry.

“ Bucky, hey man. Look, help is here.” He cradled Bucky’s face in his hands.

Something wasn’t right. Sam put his fingers near his nose, checked his pulse again.

There was none.

_He was gone._

“ No no no, not now.”, Sam laid him down on the ground. The agents came in running with two medics in the front. They opened his chest and started the CPR. Sam moved out of their way, not once removing his eyes from Bucky’s face.

“ Not you too. Please Bucky. Please.”, Sam mumbled. The medic was getting frustrated by the lack of pulse.

“ Stay.”, Sam whispered.

And then darkness took him.

* * *

Sam was sitting by the hospital bed again. It was all too familiar. Marvin Gaye was playing on his phone. Bucky was lying on the bed in front of him, in a hospital gown, IV in his hand and a nasal cannula running through his nose. It took them two consecutive surgeries to get everything right. Sam doesn’t remember much of it because of his own surgery. Hill told him it took seven hours. Now, Bucky has been unconscious for sixteen hours, still under observation. The medics did a good job back in the forest and managed to keep him stable till they reached the hospital. Sam had his hand on Bucky’s, the one without the needle. He doesn’t care anymore. It was so close, he could’ve lost Bucky. This time when he wakes up, Sam would tell him how much he means to him, tell him that he is his friend.

As if on cue, Bucky stirred a little, opening his eyes and closing them immediately because of the lights. He tried again, eyes wandering as if looking for something. They stopped at Sam, Bucky looked at him and then smiled slowly.

“ Welcome to the land of living you asshole.”, Sam smirked. Bucky closed and eyes and gave a low chuckle. He then regretted doing that when pain spiked in his whole upper body. Sam gripped his hand in support.

“ You do something like this ever again and I will stab you with my wings.”, Sam said, dead serious and smile gone. Bucky looked at him intently.

“ I lost one friend already, I don’t want to lose another.”, Sam confessed and Bucky gasped, eyes crinkling at the corners when he is too happy, like when he got his first baby goat in Wakanda. He squeezed Sam’s hand in return. After few minutes, he again closed his eyes, the medication making him sleepy again.

“ Sam ?”, he whispered. Sam came closer to listen.

“ Stay.”, and Bucky felt himself relax for the first time in a long long time.

“ I am not going anywhere.”, Sam laid back on his chair and closed his eyes.


End file.
